This invention relates to improvements in devices used by masons to locate a guideline for a course of bricks or the like. More specifically, it relates to improvements in free-standing devices of the type indicated, called story poles.
In the prior art various types of devices for assisting the mason in properly locating his guideline for laying sequential courses of bricks have been proposed. The most common expedient in use is to build up the corners of the work and stretch a line between them. The line may be secured at either end by nails temporarily placed in the mortar or by weights such as bricks placed on either end of the line. In many cases this is entirely satisfactory, but in a significant number of instances these homely expedients are not satisfactory. Using a string as a guide one may laboriously set up by hand a precisely measured guide line for each succeeding course of bricks, but this is time consuming. Time especially in today's labor market is an expense of considerable magnitude.
More sophisticated devices called story poles have been proposed and these were some improvement. However, all of the prior art expedients were useful only for locating lines from the ground up. Many of them required complicated means for anchoring the poles to the masonry wall and none of them were adapted to aligning a row of bricks parallel to the ceiling instead of the floor, which is more desirable when the floor and the ceiling are not parallel and where, due to the sitting of the structure relative the ceiling, the eye of the observer is more likely to line up the work with the ceiling than with the floor.
An additional problem in the case of a non-parallel ceiling and floor, is the difficulty of obtaining a firm purchase on both ceiling and floor.
Particularly, in the art of building fireplaces there is a need for straight course of uniform width. This is of paramount importance because the fireplace in a home is generally the focal point of attention in the room. As the focal point of attention it is subject to critical inspection. Uneven widths of plaster in the seam between the courses which might be tolerated in a wall that is going to be covered up can not be tolerated in a fireplace. It must, or at least should be, uniform throughout its construction.
Therefore, there has existed a long felt need for an instrument or device which would permit precise, but nevertheless rapid, set up and adjustment of the line guide for succeeding courses of bricks.